Adopted by House 3-9-2012


SB161 H JUD AM 3-7 #1


    The Committee on the Judiciary moves to amend the bill on page four, section two, line thirty-two, at the beginning of that subsection, by striking the provisions of subsection (b) in its entirety, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

    “(b) Any person over the age of eighteen who receives a disclosure from a credible witness or observes any sexual abuse or sexual assault of a child, shall immediately, and not more than forty-eight hours after receiving such a disclosure or observing the sexual abuse or sexual assault, report the circumstances or cause a report to be made to the Department of Health and Human Resources or the State Police or other law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction to investigate the report. In the event that the individual receiving the disclosure or observing the sexual abuse or sexual assault has a good faith belief that the reporting of the event to the police would expose either the reporter, the subject child, the reporter’s children or other children in the subject child’s household to an increased threat of serious bodily injury, the individual may delay making the report while he or she undertakes measures to remove themselves or the affected children from the perceived threat of additional harm: Provided, That the individual makes the report as soon as practicable after the threat of harm has been reduced. The law-enforcement agency that receives a report under this subsection shall report the allegations to the Department of Health and Human Resources and coordinate with any other law-enforcement agency, as necessary to investigate the report.

    And,

    On page five, section two, line fifty-three, at the end of that section by adding the following as a new subsection “(d)” as follows:

    “(d) Nothing in this article shall apply to any attorney who receives such information pursuant to representation of a client.”